My drama teacher has tasked me with helping her pick the school musical (I am her assistant director) She said she wants a show with a strong male cast and a plus would be using fly wires. She wants to stay away from disney shows excluding mary poppins, newsies, and any other show that wasn't a main stream cartoon. We are getting a new theater and it will have a giant stage. She wants to top the other high school's production of btab, so she really wants a huge set. I have had a couple of ideas one of which is "Ragtime" and my other is "A Chorus Line" in case she doesn't want the huge set. In recent years we have done "Cats", "Oliver!", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Hairspray", and "Into the Woods". What are your ideas?
We have enough poc to do Ragtime so that wouldn't be a problem, I just don't know if the audience would enjoy it. I feel like they would only enjoy three songs. (Wheels of a dream, Prologue, Make them hear you) Les Miserables was another we were thinking about but after watching other highschool productions I don't know about it.
With the first-ever Broadway production of THE BOYS IN THE BAND coming up, this would be of interest with its historial time stamp on it, plus cool late 60s/early 70s fashion.
If you want to use fly wires - then It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman - some version (especially one that eliminates/modifies the villainous Chinese Acrobats).
Billy Elliott - should use fly wires - except high school kids are probably too big for the roles.
Titanic - big set, big cast, you could use wires for the sinking
When I think strong male cast of course Les Mis comes to mind but EVERYBODY does Les Mis. It could be something that with a big stage you'd be able to make an impressive set for. But let's see... if you are looking for some different, uncommon for high school ideas... what about Spamalot? Certainly has a large male cast. The set can be big and flashy. Tim the Enchanter usually flies in and out. It really just depends on how the school's population would handle the comedy of it and the whole Lancelot is totally gay big old song and dance number. It can be a button pusher in uptight areas but if you have a chill bunch of parents, it seems like it might be a good fit for a comedy choice.
If you have a lot of guys and a diverse cast then I think Ragtime is a fantastic option. I've found that it's not super well known among the non-theatre crowd but it seems to really move them when they do see it.
We have narrowed it down, please more suggestions though lol
Ragtime
Les Miserables- We are kinda straying away from it because it is so easy to screw up
Titanic
Some other shows we are looking into (not strong male cast):
Freaky Friday
Come from Away
Ms. Saigon
If the rights are available by next year we are most likely going to try to perform Something Rotten. I really want to do Ragtime but everyone else seemed really bored by it (We were showing clips from the shows) They only liked wheels of a dream lol
How about THE WHO'S TOMMY. It has a mostly male cast and the original Broadway production had flying and a big colorful set. It's 'edgy' for a high school - but I've seen it done successfully by high schools before.
Sadly, I don't think SOMETHING ROTTEN or COME FROM AWAY will be available for high school licensing by next year.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
I think one of the most wonderful things about A Chorus Line is that the audience sits through a whole evening of giant bare stage and minimal costumes and "production values", but that at the end can be absolutely bowled over with a gigantic and spectacular set and costumes. I think it might be a great way to break in that "huge" new theatre.
Curious, by "fly wires" did you mean flies for scenery or for flying actors? It seems to be taken both ways here.
"Damn Yankees" and "How to Succeed" have great, largely male casts. If you're flying scenery, both work. You could totally fly Finch in the opening of "H2S", as he appears as a window washer in the beginning.
joined:3/21/18
joined:
3/21/18
Posted: 4/16/18 at 6:25pm